Reviews

Tim Stafford has a rather extraordinary resume.  He’s an alumnus of Alison Krauss’s Union Station. He’s a founding member and long-time guitarist with the eminently popular band, Blue Highway, and he’s recorded five solo albums along the way.  In the studio, he’s backed everyone from Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney to Tony Trischka and Larry…

Nashville musician and songwriter, Charles Butler (banjo, resonator guitar) has gathered together a nice cadre of fellow musicians to back him up on this new project of all-original material from Butler. He is joined on the various selections by Brandon Birkedahl (bass), Billy Conteras (fiddle), Ian Craft (fiddle), AJ Fox (mandolin), Geoff Henderson (bass), Jeremy…

Billy Swinson is a bluegrass artist that has been playing and writing music for a couple of decades and has now stepped up his game with his first solo project and the help of resophonic guitar player Randy Kohrs.  Swinson, a Florida resident, wrote eight of the ten tracks and contributes the mandolin breaks and…

Every once in a while, a new recording comes out and piques your interest.  This collection of songs by various Dobro players from the UK and Ireland is one such recording.  Chris Eaton, a fine Dobro player from the UK, attended Rob Ickes’ Reso Summit in November of 2022 and was so inspired by the…

What a gift multi-IBMA “Female Vocalist of the Year” Award-winner Dale Ann Bradley’s voice is. At times, she sounds like a wonderful combination of Dolly Parton and a female Keith Whitely. On her latest album, which is a true masterpiece, she’s upped the ante by bringing in an array of other ultra-talented singers, including Larry…

Hachette Books, 2023 Most avid bluegrass music fans are familiar with the similar trajectories of the careers of Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart.  Both Skaggs and Stuart started performing at a young age with first generation bluegrass legends—Skaggs with Ralph Stanley, Stuart with Lester Flatt.  They then both entered the journeyman phase of their careers…